GSLV6

Mixed up with another post, so neglect the wording in bold. Long and short of it: in your shoes, I'd be beating a path back to the dealer/person I bought it from pointing out the panel fit issues and the other teething issues and asking for a refund because that panel fit issue suggests it many have been in an accident, and if I thought for a second, someone was holding back on me, I'd be after my money back. Did you do an HPI check and see if it had been subject of an accident repair sometime in its history? Just a thought.

Mine was done for a minimal charge (about £20 from memory) for diagnosis and re-flashing the ECU. That, from the photos looks like it has been in a knock, but whatever, it doesn't look right at all. Compare the panel gaps and alignment. The left side shows panels out of alignment whilst the right shows them in alignment, as if a poor repair has historically been done. If it was working and isn't working now, that and some of the fault codes would be enough for me. Speculation aside, I'd be wanting to know from the seller if that car's had some history not declared at point of sale, and if so, asking for a refund.

Had a similar issue with my 2007 GS300. Took it to Lexus and it turned out to be a software issue on the self-closing mechanism. A quick re-flash of the ECU and problem solved.

Interesting. In which case it may be simply a factor of how the system works having to compute so many variables before optimising drive, or as you say, "built in". It isn't a real issue as many of my past turbocharged cars have experienced similar lag but annoying until you adjust to it which I find I am doing now.

I've seen a few cars with this feature since the patent ran out, including Landys & jags, and know that the newer Golf, some Nissans, Minis and Vauxhalls also have it. There's nothing much magical or not understood in the formula for engineering a realiable and safe heated screen, so I doubt it should take that long to implement. It's probably more a case of any versions that they have now, ready to fit, will, as Rayaans suggests, have to go through exhaustive trials, paperwork, committees, more paperwork, more committees, and these things tend to move with all the speed of a glacier. However, I doubt they make their own screens, so one wonders if the company who makes them for Lexus don't already make them for Nissan or other car manufacturers too?

Arguments to one side, this whole lag business perhaps deserves closer attention as Stephen has a point. I was speculating that the lag might be as a result of the USA lawsuit, but perhaps there's another reason, such as it might be an unavoidable symptom of having a complex hybrid system that needs a second or two to sort itself out. If so, one would expect the lag to be present on other models too that use the hybrid system. Anyone know whether it existed in pre 2011 RX450h vehicles or GS450h cars? If it only occurs on post 2011 cars, then would that not be evidence that it's somehow tied in to the USA issue as a belt and braces measure?

Yes, I was already aware of the USA derived lawsuit, but why then inflict the ridiculous "fix" on UK cars?...it's both insulting to intelligence and annoying. I'll be seeing if it's something within the ECU that can be mapped out. Do any other car makers bow to such stupid lawsuits? When buying an Audi S3, Honda R-type, Ferrari, Westfield etc etc, does one then expect to complain that you've run into the back of another car because of the instant acceleration on tap? OK, it's no Ferrari or S3 come to that, but the point is the same. If some people are stupid enough to run into the back of the car in front, then perhaps they deserve a Darwin award and natural selection is at play. Admittedly it's less of a problem in Sport mode but its still there. (Why, when you deliberately select "Sport" mode do Lexus think it necessary to still engineer in any delay at all? It's perfectly obvious when selecting this manually that you actually might want better throttle response. That would have been the logical "fix" for those bereft of any driving skill or common sense behind the wheel).

Must admit the interior lighting in mine is quite good. No gripes there at all. The lag is ok once you get used to it, as I was always taught that every overtaken should be planned and not rushed or spur of the moment. That has always served me well as sound advice, so I just leave more room between myself and the car I'm approaching, press the pedal, and a second or so later, know I'll get the juice to squirt past easily enough. The key, I've found, is not to compare the RX to the GS (or any other car for that matter) and flick the switch in the brain which says "luxury Utility vehicle" and then it all makes sense and becomes mighty impressive. The lag isn't a real gripe, just a characteristic you have to get used to. The performance, when it comes, allows very rapid progress. It's a rapid vehicle by any measure, for its size. The whole way it drives forces better driving behaviour, as it rewards smoothness, planning, positioning and makes you think rationally and not impulsively. Yes, the darned car's a driving instructor in it's own right!

Eurocarparts also do the batteries. Just enter your reg nr and it'll flag up an appropriate LION battery for the auxiliary with the correct specs. I did this for my RX450 and they do a 70 AH one delivered for £90 odd (and this is more expensive from Lexus than the IS300 OEM one ). The other thing that helps is to keep your key in a faraday cage wallet (sold on Amazon for £8 odd) when not in use as it'll help stop some of the battery drain plus is a good way of raising the odds against theft (it blocks the signal being emitted by the key fob), as the primary method of stealing Lexus keyless entry vehicles is either breaking in for the keys, or using scanners and boosters to amplifiy the code from the key in the house, send to a base staion close by which then boost the signal and opens the car.

I would advise that you push this as it should be covered by warranty. The issue is widely recognised by Lexus on the Mk3 GS models and easy enough to prove it's not fair wear and tear by looking at the corrosion at the joint area, As long as there is good steel left (and there ought to be as the originals were pretty solid and thick metal), and the split extends along the weld line, and around the Y junction, it is a stress fracture induced by cyclic fatigue due to insufficient support. If you get no joy with a warranty claim, write to Lexus UK head office to the CEO and also to Lexus Japan, stating that it is a well know issue which ought to have been rectified on these models but wasn't. Fact is, it's cheaper to attend to and honour the odd warranty claim than it would have been to redesign and re-manufacture a new part, hence you should get joy with a claim if you push hard enough. The CAT back exhaust will cost you around £600 plus labour for fitting plus the VAT otherwise (from memory, I thing I got mine for £583 or something but then there's the fitting kit on top of that. How they expect you to buy an exhaust and not have a fitting kit with it is beyond me!). Don't forget to have your chrome tail pipe ends removed. These cost an arm and a leg from Lexus. Insist on inspecting the old exhaust to prevent any charges for new chrome end pieces, as they're only retained with one bolt fixing and usually come off very easily. Whilst there are no pattern pipes available for these, there are exhaust specialists who can make up stainless steel replacements, for the CAT back system. The good ones should fit properly and be made of a decent gauge steel, but S/S is harder than the steel used for the OEM ones, and is more prone to cracking and stress fractures unless beefy enough, and few available are, at least under the cost of the OEM one. I was advised by my local Indy not to go this route as he claimed that the standard one would last as long, would fit better and be quieter in operation as some after market ones dispense with the rear silencer boxes, or use inadequate ones which don't match the original. I chose to pay for the standard pipe (£583) as mine was out of warranty and it didn't actually cost much more than having a good S/S one made up. Forget the £200 to £300 SS pipe offers, they won't be up to the standards needed on gauge or strength and you'll be back having them welded up probably sooner than you'd like.

I tried doing this with mine, and it worked for a few days but then reverted to "normal", so stopped fretting and just adjusted manually when needed.

OK, after a few more miles on the clock, and a few honest musings without any sugar coating: I'm still missing the GS300. Without a doubt, it was a more refined, smoother drive with more available power on tap when needed, and it handled much better. Carrying passengers over a few outings and a few have complained about the side to side rocking on the road over lumps and bumps, and the noise of the CVT when on power. The GS, even when on power, was quieter as if it was a vulgar thing to allow the people in the cabin to hear any noise. It whispered along gracefully with purpose. I've also found that even on the F-Sport setting, there is a lag when putting your foot down to anything much happening, although take-up is more rapid and available than on the standard or Eco settings. Seating is also less comfortable on a longer run although I still find it very good. Economy I'm finding is appalling for shorter trips but acceptable on longer trips. Given the cold weather, I'd expect a few mpg less than in spring/summer/autumn. On a run I'm averaging 37mpg on anything much over 20 or 30 miles. Shorter trips up to 5 miles and it drops to low 20's. The main problem is the system needing to warm up and for de-icing. It swallows fuel and the EV mode is unavailable for the first 5 minutes running. Worst I've seen on an uphill run from cold to meet a mate 3 miles away, taking in about a 600ft climb over 2 miles through a small, car strewn village and slow speed wooded area was just 11mpg! My GS would and did do better than this. I can honestly say that I achieved double this figure from cold over the same trip, and that still weighed in at about 1.67 tonnes. Practicality and it has scored 10/10. It has managed to cram in a huge amount for a local tip run without needing the rear seats folded back and passengers definitely prefer the rear seating and the room, and the ability to see more, front and side. Cleaning has been easy, despite the extra area to clean! The sides at the front are quite square and the shape of the front valance is easy to clean. The roof needs a stool to access it but that's fine. Wheels are easy to keep clean but muck up quickly, as do the sides and sills. I need to fit those mud flaps. Accessibility of functions and settings is more awkward than the GS, especially when on the move, and the kit levels are down on the GS which spoilt the occupants with every available extra now only available on Premier models, but gadgets aside, the GS cabin was a nicer place to be. I may be in a minority but I found it classier, preferred the "old fashioned" Rosewood trim and it somehow seemed lighter, possibly as the F-Sport uses a black roof lining so reflects less light inside (why?). Am I still happy with the purchase? Yes and no. It ticks all the right boxes for us as a family, but for a driver who wants to be spoilt, flattered, cosseted and whisked around in blissful silence where corners are dispatched without drama and bumps are glided over as if on a magic carpet, with more refinement than you can shake a decanter at, with lots of "go" under the right foot instantly available, the GS wins hands down. The RX allows better visibility which is nice for the driver as well as passengers, is still quite refined, has adequate performance. On a run at least, is more economical (just!), allows better passenger comfort and has real road presence, the RX wins hands down on these few points and practicality. Watch this space.

I had something similar on my 2007 GS300, due to a design fault with the pipe where it split at the Y section and this was a point of high stress combined with insufficient support at that area. It split, requiring a new exhaust at 69K miles. Unsure if yours is a similar design but the only choice is to have a new exhaust supplied (and fitted by an indy to save money) or have a new S/S one made up (most on offer are quite hard, thin walled and prone to splitting though, unless you pay for a premium one which costs as much as the OEM one to have made up).

I'd say listen to the sales guy as his advice was spot on. Arrange a test drive in both and make you own mind up. Surely when considering spending so much you would'y buy "blind"?

Great resource John, thanks for sharing. Sounds like a very economical solution to the paint.

Local 6 mile trip this morning in sub zero temperatures saw 18mpg (one long hill climb, one hill descent included)

I had this with my GS. It is a very common issue with the Mk3. When you activate the mirror dip for reversing, they are meant to return to where they started but often don't. More commonly, mine wouldn't dip far enough when reverse was engaged and I had to manually dip them more, but often they would return to where they started. I was unsure whether is was a mechanical issue (corrosion or dirt) or an electrical one but I never got it sorted. You'll probably find that Lexus charge more than it's worth to sort it. For example, betweeen £30 and £60 for a diagnostic check then whatever the cost of replacement parts or simply re-flashing the system ECU (which would be needed if it was software related). Either disable the auto dip feature or just adjust manually if they don't return.

+1 As repeatedly mentioned on the other thread, manufacturer's take pressure rise into account which is why the recommended pressures are always given as "Cold Pressures". Why HJ persists with his version of reality is the real conundrum here since a 4 psi pressure rise is nowhere near enough to result in a serious crash due solely to pressure effects. Tyres rely on the tread (not tyre wall) deforming and heating up to generate grip, but many tyres also contain silica compounds which help cold tyre grip, wet weather grip and in the event you slightly over-inflate your tyres, you are perfectly safe. I respect a lot of HJs reviews, but on this one, he's wrong as wrong can be. Under inflating to 30psi from, say, 36psi is far more likely to result in an accident as it increases side wall deflection, increases tyre temperatures and wear, and cause more body roll/pitch into corners and some loss of control. If you drove hard and pushed to the tyre and vehicle's limits on a corner you know well with properly inflated tyres, then dropped pressures by 6psi, you'd likely need a change of underwear if you tried tackling the same corner at the same speed again with under inflated tyres! Don't do it folks, you know it makes sense... (best Del boy accent). I once remember driving home from work when one of my rear tyres had a puncture (possibly a slow puncture earlier on and I hadn't noticed). By the time I'd noticed, it had generated so much heat that it caught fire and the smoke in my rear view mirror gave it away. Bizarrely, I didn't notice anything amiss except a slight weave until the smoke appeared! This is an example of temperature rise with extreme under inflation where the tyre wall deformation was so extreme that it just carried on heating up with the friction as it rolled about and wallowed, eventually slipping on the rim and catching fire.

The Avon ZX7s are available as XL rated. At £108 fitted per corner, they seem something of a bargain for a premier tyre. I'd be interested in feedback from anyone who's tried them RE noise, grip and economy (ie any difference in mpg?). I guess that the grippier the tyre, the worse the economy as there's more friction to overcome. Here's a link (they're the second ones on the list): https://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/search/235-55-19/V/101 Never have guessed that you were in the NHS Rayaans...I thought you might be an engineer too! (For my sins, I am an engineer...)

The cracks can be glued with Q-Bond, a mix of reinforcing carbon powder with a sort of superglue than many bodyshops use on plastic repairs. Personally, I'd use a glass fibre kit in the inside, then fill the gap from the outside in layers using P38 2-part car body filler. Once done, it can be smoothed and then the whole wing mirror rubbed down (you'll never blend that in) and re-primed and re-sprayed. It needs to be water based base coat as acrylic tends to crack with any flexure on plastics. The top coat is a lacquer. I've done minor repairs in the past this way. It's time consuming but will likely save you £100 or so over a replacement. You can get the paint from Lexus if you ask or a car body repair shop but be aware, its about £40/litre and some only sell it in litre pots.

I find it odd that some dealers won't stamp the book unless one of the full price services is carried out. All they need do is write "Essesntial Service" in the box and put their dealer stamp on it. That way, come sale time, at least people can flick through the book without having to wade through reams of paper. All Lexus dealers enter all service work electronically anyway, so the book is more for the customer and potential buyers to see what's been done and when. If a dealer refused to stamp my book for an Essential service, I'd ask to speak to the centre manager and complain. If they persisted, I'd take my car elsewhere to be serviced. There are set differences between the full price services with respect to mileage, as there would be I guess with the Essential services which ought to cover the basic service requirements commensurate with age and mileage since last service (plus overall mileage). There's nothing to prevent anyone going to an independent and having them service the vehicle and stamp the book for you. They can carry out much the same work as the premier service for less, and I guess the only thing they can't do are some of the software re-flashes if needed. I'm with some of the others here. I was under the impression that Lexus UK set out common approached to be followed for each of their UK Franchises, but it appears that some are beating their own path. Perhaps a letter to Lexus might shed some light or even get some of these differences addressed for the sake of continued customer satisfaction. After all, now that Lexus are looking for a larger share of the pie with more models to choose from, they need to keep that reputation where it currently stands to continue to compete at the same level.

Sounds like you've made a pretty firm conclusion there Paul. I must admit, from a ride quality, I preferred the RX, but if you go for one, don't be put off by the firmer suspension of the F Sport because the lateral dampers do help limit body roll plus they help with cabin comfort. If you can hunt down an F-Sport, you may prefer it to the standard one. VFM has to be any of the Advance models, but you wont get things like the HUD in those, which I find very useful as you don't have to take your eyes off the road. In driving, you're right. There's not a huge difference. The RX is a little taller, wider and longer but not by a large margin, yet it offers considerably more cabin and load space, and seats, while lacking the 10-way adjustability of the Mk3 GS or the 3RX Premier are still 8-way adjustable so you'll find a comfortable setting. I also found the seating in the RX more comfortable than the NX, and you feel like you're sat in them (ie they're more cosseting). Colour choice is a little limited in the 3RX, and most I've seen at my local dealers tend to be white (Arctic or Polar) which looks good, but I prefer the silver. I think there's also two choices of black (Velvet and Metallic) and a Burgundy colour. You soon get used to the infotainment system with its mouse pad and you can adjust the sensitivity of the mouse pad for feedback. It took me about a week to be able to navigate round everything without giving it a second thought, and now I prefer it to the more usual wheel controls. Bear in mind that it's a 2.2t vehicle, it'll never glide over bumps and potholes because the suspension has to be firm enough to deal with a lot of weight, but saying that, I find ours no worse than many lighter cars. Road noise can be a lot to do with tyres. A change of tyres can drastically reduce noise and a little research will show which perform best. I have to say that the OEM Dunlops on the 19 inch rims aren't too bad but there's better. Good luck and keep us posted....oh, we want pictures!

The clue to 24mpg is the climate you were driving through plus the speed you were driving at and the elevation of the locatons above sea level. Official figures aren't based on 70-100mph (!). They're based on a set of standard tests and extra-urban usually optimised for 56mph constant cruising in top gear on the level in ideal circumstances. Combined is just an average of stop-start town and extra urban. When you think about it, 24mpg is actually not bad at all for a 2.2 tonne lump travelling at an average of, what 85mph, in a cold climate on presumably some elevated locations, possible well above sea level where you'd expect a fall in power and increase in fuel consumption on the hills. My 450h only averages 34 to 35mpg with mixed driving since I picked it up against official figures of 44.4 mpg.

"Check" often refers to just a visual check on condition for wear or obvious defects. "Inspect" is more thorough and usually implies measurement against a standard. For example, a check on wheel alignment might be something as simple as a visual inspection of tyre wear, which often throws up obvious significant wheel alignment problems. A wheel alignment inspection infers setting a vehicle up on a wheel alignment jig and measuring alignment against a specified set of parameters and reporting on tolerance. Subtle but distinct differences. I'm sure that a Lexus service person would be able to confirm the specifics for the differences between their Essential and Standard service plans. As the cost difference is significant, it implies more labour, so would point towards more work which might throw up faults or defects that a simple visual check might not.

LoL! Fabulous, Who'd have thunk it! Bet you're over the moon with that result. Any damage to belt? I'd probably replace it with a new one to be on the safe side, but I'm risk averse where engines are concerned!